Catastrophic Event Management Protocol

Transcription

1 Catastrophic Event Management Protocol Department of Athletics, Physical Education, and Recreation MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY 2/7/ P a g e

2 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Department of Athletics, Physical Education, and Recreation CATASTROPHIC INJURY MANAGEMENT PROTOCOL Contents Management of Off Campus Emergency Events In Brief... 2 Overview... 4 Protocol... 4 Catastrophic Injury Defined... 4 Catastrophic Injury Management Team... 5 Immediate Action Plan... 6 Communication Flow Chart... 6 Before Athletic Event/Travel Occurs... 7 Areas of Responsibility... 7 Coach, Coach s Designee, or Lead Person on Site... 7 Athletic Administrator... 8 Athletic Director... 8 Dean on Call/Sr. Associate Dean for Student Life... 9 Emergency Operations Center P a g e

3 Division of Student Life Department of Athletics, Physical Education, and Recreation Management of Off Campus Emergency Events In Brief Event type Trip/Event Assistance Personal Injury Catastrophic Event Minor accident Transport to hospital Death/dismemberment Transportation/lodging Major accident Event issue The lead on-site person will: 1. Assess the event status and manage personnel. 2. Collect names and phone numbers as needed. 3. Access the travel information as needed. 4. Call the athletic administrator to notify and provide information about the event. Event call script for the athletic administrator who is first contacted Emergency call questions coach/caller will be asked: 1. Name of Coach/caller 2. Event description 3. Names of injured 4. Hospital names/locations 5. Cell numbers of two contacts 6. Questions from caller 7. Next steps being taken on site Catastrophic event management steps for administrators (athletic administration, Dean on Call responders, MIT Police) The athletic administrator will: 1. Call the Athletic Director if the Athletic Director is not already contacted. 2. Call other DAPER administrators. 3. Call back coach/event manager on site in 30 min a. Provide answers to questions from previous call b. Tell on site manager what will be done next to support them 2 P a g e

4 The Athletic Director will: 1. Call the MIT Police to request a call back from the Dean on Call or call the Dean on Call directly. Dean on Call protocols and notifications and protocols will be activated. 2. Call the Dean for Student Life and the Chancellor. The Dean on Call will: 1. Call the secondary responder and the Sr. Associate Dean or Associate Dean. 2. Activate Dean on Call protocols. The Sr. Associate Dean or Associate Dean will: 3. Contact the Emergency Operations Center to activate the emergency conference call group. 4. Call the Athletic Director. If the Athletic Director cannot be reached, the Associate Director, Assistant Director of Athletics, or Assistant Department Head for DAPER Facilities and Operations will be called in order until an athletic administrator is reach. 3 P a g e

5 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Department of Athletics, Physical Education, and Recreation CATASTROPHIC INJURY MANAGEMENT PROTOCOL Overview The following protocol was developed through a collaborative process between members of DSL staffs from DAPER and Student Development and Support (SD&S). Representatives from these areas identified the initial processes to include in the protocol. Drafts were reviewed by the front-line users coaches and revisions made based on their feedback. The protocol was also reviewed by the Security and Emergency Management Office to better refine the protocol. Once in a useable format, representatives from DAPER and SD&S participated in table top exercises facilitated by members of the Security and Emergency Management Office to test the protocol and identify any gaps to be addressed. The protocol will be reviewed on a regular basis with DAPER staff and select members of athletic teams to enhance the likelihood of a prompt and coordinated response to any catastrophic incident involving members of MIT athletic teams. Protocol Catastrophic injuries can be an unfortunate part of participation in athletics. The events following the injury or incident can be challenging for all involved. The following protocol provides guidance about communication, roles, and responsibilities in the event that a member of DAPER is involved in a catastrophic injury, specifically the student athletes, staff, and coaches. Keep in mind that every situation is unique and information may originate from different sources. This protocol is a guideline. Some incidents may require a variation in response. In all cases, reasonableness and good judgment in responding should prevail. Catastrophic Injury Defined A catastrophic injury is defined as: 1. The sudden death of a student athlete, coach, or staff member a. Death during competition, practice, or conditioning b. Death during travel (official or personal) c. Non-athletic accidents d. Unknown medical anomalies e. Victim of a crime f. Suicide 4 P a g e

6 2. Disabling and/or quality of life altering injuries a. During DAPER participation and/or travel or during non-athletic activities b. Spinal cord injury resulting in partial or complete paralysis c. Loss of paired organ d. Severe head injury e. Injuries resulting in severely diminished mental capacity or other neurological injury that results in inability to perform daily functions (e.g. coma) f. Irrecoverable loss of speech, hearing (both ears), sight (both eyes), or both arms, both legs or one arm and one leg Catastrophic Injury Management Team 1. Coach or designee: The lead person on site responding to the catastrophic incident. Ideally a primary, secondary, and tertiary responder is identified. 2. Athletic Administrator: The Director, Associate Director, or Assistant Director of Athletics. 3. Sr. Associate Dean for Student Life: The lead DSL staff overseeing the Dean on Call system for responding to emergency needs involving MIT students and affiliates. 4. Dean on Call: A team of primary and secondary responders for addressing emergency needs involving MIT students and affiliates. 5. MIT Police 6. Emergency Operations Center: The Emergency Operation Center (EOC) provides leadership and support for MIT s emergency preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation efforts. The EOC is staffed with representatives from departments across the Institute based on the specific emergency incident. The primary purpose of the EOC is to serve as a single focal point for information management, communications, resource support/allocation, financial assistance and decision making to support the On-Scene Incident Commander/EOC Director during the entire disaster management and recovery process. The Liaison Officer and the Public Information Officer (PIO) from the EOC initiates direct contact with the Office of the President, the EEC and emergency services provided by the City, County, State and Federal disaster response agencies as well as the news media. 5 P a g e

7 Immediate Action Plan The following action plan and steps should be followed to manage a catastrophic incident. While applying these steps, keep in mind the following information buckets: 1. This is what I know 2. This is what I don t know 3. This is what I am going to find out Communication Flow Chart The communication flow is detailed in the diagram on the following page. Specific areas of responsibility follow. 6 P a g e

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9 Before Athletic Event/Travel Occurs Coaches have emergency kits Travel rosters and plans are submitted to Athletics Administration Coach has identified a primary, secondary, and tertiary responder in case of incident Areas of Responsibility Coach, Coach s Designee, or Lead Person on Site Keep in mind: Get all pertinent facts regarding the incident accurately and expeditiously (what I know). Identify information still needed (what I don t know and what I am going to find out). Accurately document all events as soon as possible, especially list all participants and witnesses. Immediate Steps on Site Move all participants away from scene and convene team in a locker room or other private location. Identify coaches, staff, or students on site to assist with coordination of response and identify a host institution contact person if event is away from campus. Address family member needs: a. If present, secure privacy for family members and coordinate support services with host institution contact. b. If family members of injured person are not present, communicate with the hospital about contact with the family. In the case of a death, local authorities will communicate with family. c. In the injured is able to do so, encourage them to contact family directly. d. Identify a room for other family members of MIT student athletes or staff to gather by consulting with host institution contact. e. Request that media not be given access to team and families (to host institution if away event). Determine to what hospital or location injured or deceased is being transported. If necessary, assist local authorities with arrangements for interviews with team members, coaches, or other members of the travel party. Those who might be interviewed will likely need to be kept away from the public and the press until after the interviews take place. Communicate the following information to MIT Athletic Administrator: 7 P a g e

10 a. Pertinent facts regarding the incident b. To what hospital or location the injured or deceased have been transported. c. Name and cell phone number for host institution contact person. Note: if the Athletic Administrator cannot be reached, contact the MIT Police at and ask to be connected to the Dean on Call. Secondary Steps on Site Out of respect for the injured/deceased individual and family, request that students, staff, and families refrain from using cell phones so that information can be centralized and there is better control of information accuracy. Inform student athletes, coaches, and staff that they should not speak to anyone about the incident until they are given clearance to do so pending notification of family members. In the case of injury, identify a staff member or designee to stay at the hospital. Make transportation arrangements for staff member or designee to return to site, hotel, or campus. Upon return from an away event, gather team in DAPER media room. When possible, accurately document all events, especially list all participants and witnesses. Athletic Administrator Assign functions to responding staff members on campus (communications with parents, roster information, etc.) Communicate information to Athletic Director if not already contacted. Inform coach, coach s designee, or lead person on site to expect a call from the Dean on Call at MIT. Get cell phone number from the coach, coach s designee, or lead person on site. Contact MIT Police to communicate information and request that they enact Dean on Call procedures. Give MIT Police the cell phone number for the coach, coach s designee, or lead person on site. If after hours, ask MIT Police to contact the facilities staff to open the Zesiger Center. Alert DAPER staff to enact on-campus procedures. Alert DAPER communication staff to coordinate with central communications. Athletic Director Communicate with host institution representative if away event. a. Request that only Institute officials and police have access to team, coaches, and staff. 8 P a g e

11 b. Request that all materials, equipment, and game films be secured. c. Identify support and services to be provided by host institution if away event. Communicate regularly with Dean on Call and/or Sr. Associate Dean for Student Life. In consultation with the Sr. Associate Dean for Student Life, Dean on Call, and/or MIT Police, activate the Emergency Operations Center (see below). Following the incident, coordinate an After Action Review with responders. Dean on Call/Sr. Associate Dean for Student Life Contact coach, coach s designee, or lead person on site. Follow protocol for responding to student injury or death as outlined in Dean on Call procedures (including communications plans, addressing student needs, etc.). Convene MIT-based intervention team as soon as possible after notification of incident. With Athletic Director, identify staff to meet team at site and/or upon return to campus (EOC can assist with this process). Communicate with MIT Police about informing family members of incident. Informing families (if not at event) will be coordinated by MIT Police and local authorities. Engage in ongoing communication and meet with family members as needed. In consultation with the Athletic Director, Dean on Call, and/or MIT Police, activate the Emergency Operations Center (see below). Emergency Operations Center The way to reach the EOC and ask for activation is via one of two portals: The Facilities Operations Center ( ) or MIT PD ( ). When you reach either of these centers, you ask for the EOC Critical Command Staff (EOC CCS) to be activated. The EOC CCS will convene via the EOC Conference Bridge ( ). You can join the conference bridge and discuss the scenario and need request for activation. In consultation with the Athletic Director, Sr. Associate Dean for Student Life, and/or MIT Police, identify a command center. In consultation with the Athletic Administrator, determine a transportation plan for team and make arrangements for team to return to campus if away. Inform Athletic Director of an estimated time of arrival. If the incident warrants an extended stay at the site, work with the Athletic Director to identify accommodations and other resources. Communicate with MIT Police about transportation to site or from site for staff if necessary. 9 P a g e

12 Coordinate actions to meet the needs of any family members (gathering space, food, etc.) who have gathered at MIT. Work with the Athletic Director to determine the status of team member for each family member who has come to campus. In consultation with the Athletic Director and Sr. Associate Dean for Student Life, alert central communications about the incident so that a media response is prepared, as well as a plan for communicating with families and students. 10 P a g e